


The Poetry Performance

by tinybox



Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [11]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: False Memories, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22706977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: Monika has a surprise announcement for everyone at the end of the meeting.Three out of five members aren't too happy with what she has to say.
Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619047
Kudos: 7





	The Poetry Performance

***Load**

"Alright, everyone!" Monika calls from the front of the classroom. "We're all done reading each other's poems, right? I have something extra planned today, so if everyone could come sit at the front of the room..."

As Natsuki slides into her chair, she grumpily asks, "Is this about the festival?"

Monika smiles sweetly. "Well, sort of."

"Ugh," Natsuki groans, "do we really have to do something for the festival? It's not like we can put anything good together in just a few days. We'll just embarrass ourselves instead of getting any new members."

"That's a concern of mine as well," Yuri pipes in, tapping her fingers together in what I assume is nervousness. "I don't really do well with last minute preparations..."

"Don't worry so much!" Monika says reassuringly, "We're going to keep it simple, okay? We won't need more than a few decorations. Sayori has been working on some posters, and I've designed some pamphlets we can give during the event."

"Okay, that's great and all," Natsuki bluntly says, "but that doesn't actually tell us what we're actually going to be doing for the event."

_I have a bad feeling about where this is going..._

"Ah, sorry!" Monika sheepishly apologizes. "I thought you'd heard about it already. We're going to be-"

_Please don't say performing please don't say performing..._

"-performing!"

Neither Natsuki or Yuri look happy about this announcement. 

"Performing?" Natsuki snaps, scowling at Monika with a death glare.

Yuri, on the other hand, looks like she might faint on the spot. "P...um, Monika?"

The class president cheerfully continues talking. "Yeah! We're going to be having a poetry performance. Each of us are going to choose a poem to recite during the event. But the cool part is, we're also going to let anyone else come and recite poems too! Sayori's putting it on all the posters in case anyone wants to prepare ahead of time."

Sayori, who's been coloring a poster, holds it up for us to see.

"Are you kidding me, Monika?" Natsuki huffs. "You didn't...you didn't already start putting those posters up, did you?"

My stomach drops. 

"Eh? Well, I did...do you really think it's that bad of an idea...?" 

"Well, no." Natsuki admits. "It's not a bad idea. But I didn't sign up for this, you know! There is _no_ way I'm going to be performing in front of a group of people like that!"

"I...I agree with Natsuki!" Yuri blurts out. "I could never...in my life...do something like that."

She's trembling a little in fear.

"Guys..." Sayori starts, only to be stopped by Monika holding her hand up.

"No, Sayori...I understand where they're coming from. Remember that Natsuki and Yuri have never shared their poems with anyone until just a couple of days ago...it's a lot to ask of them to recite their poems out loud to a room full of people. I'm sorry, you guys. I guess I just overlooked that."

Monika takes a deep breath, before continuing with, "But! I still think we should give it our best! We're the only ones responsible for the fate of this club. If we start the event and each put on a good performance...then it will inspire others to do the same! And the more people who perform, the better we'll be able to show everyone what literature is all about!"

"Yeah!" Sayori chimes in. "It's about expressing your feelings...being intimate with yourself...finding new horizons...and having fun!"

"That's right!" Monika agrees. "And it's those reasons that we're all in this club today. Don't you want to share that with others? To inspire them to find that same feeling that brought you here in the first place? I know you do. I know we all do. And if all it takes is standing in front of the room for two minutes and reciting a poem...then I know you can do it!"

Natsuki and Yuri remain silent.

Sayori looks worried.

I bite my lip for a moment, trying to think of something to say. Whatever I choose will tip the scale on either side, so I have to pick carefully.

"I agree...I don't think it's too much to ask. I think that Sayori and Monika have been trying really hard to get new members. The least we can do is help them out a bit."

"Well...maybe, but..." Natsuki stops mid-sentence, clearly out of any arguments to give. "Uu...okay, fine! I guess I'll have to get it over with."

"Alright!" Sayori cheers.

"Whew," Monika breathes, "thanks, Natsuki. What about you, Yuri?"

"..."

Yuri dejectedly glances around at everyone else's expectant faces. 

"...I-I guess I don't really have a choice..."

"Ahaha! That's everyone!" Sayori giggles. "You're the best, Yuri!"

"...This club is seriously going to be the death of me," Yuri mumbles. 

"Oh, gosh. You'll be fine, Yuri," Monika says reassuringly. "But anyway...let's move onto the main event! I want each of you to choose a poem of yours. We're going to practice reciting them in front of each other."

"N-N-No way!!" Natsuki yelps. 

"Monika...! This is too sudden...!" Yuri whimpers.

"Well, if you can't recite your poem in front of the club, how do you expect to do it in front of strangers?"

Yuri, looking like she wants to sink into the ground, squeaks out, "Oh no..."

"Don't worry," Monika continues, "I'll start off to help everyone feel more comfortable."

"Can I go next?" Sayori begs.

"Ahaha. Of course. Now, let's see..."

Monika flips through her notebook, clearly trying to find the perfect poem. Stopping at one of the pages, she then heads behind the podium.

"The title of the poem is _The Way They Fly._ "

Clearing her throat, Monika begins reciting her poem; her clear, confident voice fills the room. More than that, her inflection is pristine. She knows exactly how to apply emotion behind each line she recites, bringing the words to life.

 _Being in the Debate Club probably sharpened her presenting skills. Then again, she may have been born with that talent to begin with._

Glancing around briefly, I see that everyone's eyes are on Monika. 

Sayori looks amazed.

Yuri has an intense expression on her face that I don't understand.

Natsuki looks both impressed and annoyed at the same time. 

Finally, Monika finishes the recitation, and the four of us applaud. Taking a breath, the class president smiles at all of us. 

"That...that was so good, Monika!" Sayori gasps. 

"Ahaha," Monika laughs sheepishly, "thank you very much. I was just hoping to set a good example."

_Almost **too** good of an example, now I feel like my recital is going to look even more terrible in comparison._

"Are you ready to go next, Sayori?"

Before Sayori can respond, Yuri stands up. "I-I'll go next!!"

"Uwah!" Sayori giggles, "Yuri's fired up all of a sudden!"

Clutching a sheet of paper in a death-grip, she walks with her head down to the podium. "This poem is called-!"

Yuri anxiously glances at all of us. 

I give her a thumbs-up.

"You can do it, Yuri!" Sayori cheers. 

"It's...it's called... _Afterimage of a Crimson Eye_." 

Yuri's voice shakes as she starts reading the poem. 

_Just a moment ago, she practically refused to do this. Why is she suddenly putting so much effort?_

_...Whatever reason, she's really brave for doing this._

As Yuri gets past the first couple of lines, her voice changes. It's almost like what happens when Yuri gets absorbed into her books.

Her quivering words transform into the sharp syllables of a fierce and confident woman, the poem is full of twists and turns in its structure that she enunciates with perfect timing. 

_This must be a rare glimpse into the whirling fire Yuri keeps concealed inside her head...!_

Suddenly, she's finished, snapping back into reality with a bewildered expression, like she surprised even herself. 

All of us are stunned into silence. 

I'm the first one to start clapping, and the everyone else quickly joins in giving the recognition deserves.

It's not that we didn't want to applaud for her.

_We just all must have been so caught off-guard that we'd forgotten to react._

As we applaud, Yuri clutches her paper tightly to her chest once more, rushing back to her seat.

"Yuri, that's really good," Monika praises. "Thank you for sharing."

"Okaay!" Sayori begins cheerfully, "I guess I'm next, then!"

Hopping out of her chair, Sayori skips to the podium. "This one's called... _My Meadow._ Ah...ahaha!" Sayori giggles. "Sorry, I giggled," Sayori says sheepishly. "Ehehe..."

"Sayori, stay focused. You can do it!" I say encouragingly.

"It's a lot harder than I thought! How did you guys do it so easily?"

"Ah..." Monika begins, her expression thoughtful. "Try not to think of it like you're reciting to other people. Imagine you're reciting to yourself, like in front of a mirror or in your own head. It's your poem, so it'll come out best that way."

"I see, I see..." Sayori takes a deep breath in, then out. "Okay, then..."

With that, Sayori begins her poem. 

Somehow, it feels as though her soft voice was made as a perfect match. 

It isn't aimlessly cheery like Sayori is, instead, it's serene and bittersweet. If I were to read this on paper, I probably wouldn't think much of it...but hearing Sayori read it almost gives the poem a whole new meaning. 

_Maybe this is what Sayori meant when she said she likes my poems._

_There's just...I don't know, some kind of level of intimacy, seeing the depths of someone I thought I knew very through and through._

_...It's a strange feeling, but it's not a bad one._

Sayori finishes her poem, and we all applaud.

"I did it!"

"Good job, Sayori!" I tell her, and she giggles.

"Thanks, Kaito!"

"It came out nicely, Sayori," Monika praises. "The atmosphere of the poem fits you very nicely. But it might be that other poems wouldn't work as well with that kind of delivery..."

_What does she mean by that?_

"Eh?" Sayori says in surprise, "I don't really understand..."

"In other words, I've seen poems of yours where that sort of gentle delivery wouldn't work as well. They might need a little more force behind them, depending on what you're reading..."

Sayori immediately perks back up. "Oh, I know what you mean! That's...well, I've been practicing that kind of thing...it's just embarrassing to do it in front of everyone...ehehehe..."

"Then next time," Monika says in a gentle, yet firm voice, "I'm going to make you pick a poem that challenges you a little more. We don't have that much time before the festival, you know?"

"Okaaaaaay!" Sayori giggles, skipping back to her seat.

When she sits down, I give her a high-five. 

"Now, who's next...? Natsuki? Kaito?"

"Don't make me go before Kaito," Natsuki grumps. "It's not like I can compare to you guys, anyway...might as well let Kaito lower everyone's standards a little before I have to do it."

"No problem," I tell her. "I'm great at lowering expectations. Besides, I might as well get it over now instead of later."

I go up and stand in front of the podium. 

Everyone has their eyes on me, and I feel like a bug under a magnifying lens.

Sayori's gentle smile reassures me a little, and I manage to get through my poem without sounding too stupid. Since I'm not too confident in my own writing, it was hard to put energy into it, but everyone claps at the end, anyway. 

"Sorry I'm not as good as everyone else..."

"Don't worry about it so much," Monika says with a sweet smile. "I think it's less about your abilities, and more about your lack of confidence in your writing. That's something that'll improve over time, though."

"Yeah...maybe."

"Alright, then! That just leaves you, Natsuki."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going." Natsuki begrudgingly gets out of her seat and makes her way to the podium. 

"This poem is called...it's called..." Natsuki stops for a moment, clenching her hands into tight fists. "W-why are you all looking at me?!"

Monika looks confused. "Because you're presenting..."

"Hmph. Anyway, the poem is called _Jump._ "

Natsuki takes a breath, and begins reading. Once she starts reciting the poem, her sour attitude disappears entirely. And while she still sounds a little unenthused, her poem has a rhythm and rhyme to it.

It's Natsuki's trademark style, and it sounds pretty good when spoken aloud; the words feel like they bounce up and down, as if giving life to the poem.

When she finishes, everyone applauds. 

Natsuki huffs back to her seat, cheeks flaming.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Easy for you to say..." Natsuki snarks back. "You'd better not make me do that again."

"Ah, well..." Monika begins, "do you at least feel prepared enough to recite a poem in front of other people?"

"I mean, doing it in front of other people will be way easier! I can put on whatever face I want for other people. But when it's just my friends...it's just...embarrassing."

"That's a surprise, Natsuki..." Sayori says in confusion. "I think it would be the other way around for me."

"Well, that's just how it is, so..."

"Well," Monika says, "I guess in that case...you won't have much to worry about for the festival. That said, I want to thank everyone for coming through. It might be hard, but I hope that you all have an idea what it's like now. Make sure you pick a poem and get enough practice before the festival, okay? I'll be making pamphlets, so let me know ahead of time what you'll be reciting."

_I should probably find some other poem to recite instead..._

"Does the poem have to be my own?" I ask.

Monika shakes her head. "Nope! Any kind of poem is good. You know, I'm pleasantly surprised that you're putting in all this effort for the club. It makes me really happy."

"Ah, um...sure," I stutter, sounding like a complete doofus.

"Okay everyone!" Monika says with a bright smile, "I know the festival is coming up, but let's try writing poems for tomorrow, as well. It's been working out really nicely so far, so I'd like to continue that. As for the festival, we'll finish planning tomorrow, and then we'll have the weekend to prepare. Monday's the big day!"

"I can't wait!" Sayori beams.

"I can do this...I can do this..." Yuri mumbles to herself.

"I'll do my best," I tell Monika. 

_There's no way I'll be able to find the same enthusiasm as Sayori and Monika, but I'll try to do my best to get through it._

_If it's for the sake of the club...a̸̡̖̺̞͇̠͉̪̣̻̯̮̯͌̇̾̂n̷̛̪̥̝̻̞̦̗͍̦̳̜̜͈̆́͒d̶̢͚̻̬̻̰̥̋ ̵̢̡͎͎̯̯̱͎̭̙̬͐͒͆̒̒̐̄̌͘ͅì̵̧̤̖̞͓̞̫͚̱̈́̊̄̆̈́͂̐̌̂̕͜͝ͅm̵̡̡͈̭̮͔̖͊̂͑̊͆̒̅p̴̰̰̞͍͙͆͘ͅŗ̸̩̇͂͋̒͌͊e̷̢̧̧̡͈͈̫̹̬̣̞̘̦̠͊͒̃͗̎̒́̿͊̾̕͝͠s̴̺͚̞̙̗̲̗̼͇͂͗̓̉̂͗̏͒͂̅͂̾͝s̷͍͝i̵̧͚͖̹͔̼̒̊̓̈̇̊̽͝n̶̡̢̨͉͎̬̩͔̻̮͚͔͉͙̠̊̔̅̓̍̈́̄̔͠ģ̷̨̫͓̺̥̪̺͖̜̎̇͌̉̉̈̕͜͝ ̴̜̲͇͕̗͎̘̞̹̣̱͌͛̔M̵̈́̒̊̌ͅo̷̧̤͉̼̻̠̙̠̤̝͊̃̂͂̒̄̀́̾͑͘͘͝͠n̴̨͈̬̘̭̮̝͚̼̬̻̤̞̈́̒̅͜͠͝ȉ̸̢̪͙̟̺͓̜̥̦̬̗̓̈͂̍͆͝k̴̟͐̂͋̃͑̃̋̅͗̕͜͠͠à̵̧̛̲͖͚̲͙͕̤͍̲̬̦͉̋̓̐̿̈́͊̚͜.̶̛͇̰̥̰̯̬̣̼̺̹͚̍ͅͅ.̵̧̡͙͕̭̞̖̩̤͈͚̀̚ͅ.̸̢̝͉̩̮̩̮̣̔̏͛͗͆̅̅͘ then I'll have to do my best._

"Ready to go, Sayori?"

"Yep!"

"Look at you two," Natsuki says with a smirk, "always going home together like that."

"It's kind of adorable, isn't it?" Monika says, smiling sweetly.

Sayori giggles. 

"Jeez, guys...don't make it weird," I mutter. "It's not really that much of a big deal."

"It must a little nice, though..." Yuri quietly says.

_How I am supposed to respond to that?_

"It's okay, you don't have to say it," Sayori tells me.

I shrug. "...Whatever. Well, we might as well go now. See you tomorrow, everyone."

***Save**

I walk home with Sayori once more. 

_Even though it's only been a few days, a lot of things have already changed._

_...Sayori's being a lot quieter than usual, though._

"Hey, Sayori..."

"Sorry! I was spacing out!" Sayori quickly says. 

"Ah," I tease, "no wonder. Excited for the festival, right?"

"...Actually, I was thinking about something from earlier. I like how we get..." Sayori fumbles with her words. "So, let's just say that one day, Yuri asked to walk with you..."

"Huh?"

"What would you do?"

"You're such a goof, Sayori! Of course I'd walk home with you. What, do you not want me around anymore?"

"No! It's just...she's so beautiful and smart..."

I can't help but laugh. "Sayori, I already see her in the club every day. Besides, I like walking home with you. And you seem to like walking with me too. I wouldn't take that away from you."

"You're so silly, Kaito. You think about me too much sometimes. Yuri would deserve it if she wanted it, so..."

"Sayori, I've already made up my mind. Do you really think I'd ditch you like that? Sheesh..."

"Sorry..."

The conversation trails off.

_It's kind of a weird thing for Sayori to ask so suddenly._

_...I should keep a closer eye on her, just to make sure she's okay_.

***Save**


End file.
